At 4,000 meters above sea level, 7 hours from the closest major city, children are struggling in Tarma, Junín, and Concepción in the central highlands of Peru. Table tennis might be the answer.
"From the Andes to the World: Tables of Dreams" by Club Deportivo Team Talentos has secured $22,500 in funding from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) by winning the ITTF Foundation Dream Building Fund. The project was selected alongside five other winners from Thailand, England, Chile, India, and Kenya, chosen from 74 applicants across 31 countries.
The project hopes to use table tennis with a neuroscientific approach, addressing comprehensive training that includes psychological, mental, nutritional, and technical-tactical elements, to promote discipline, values, and healthy habits.
The Challenge: Mountains, Isolation, and Poverty
Tarma, Junín, and Concepción are provincial capitals in Peru's central highlands, predominantly indigenous Quechua and mestizo communities relying on agriculture, livestock, and mining, with poverty rates of 25-35%. In rural Junín, 14 percent of teenagers drop out of school, 28 percent consume alcohol, and 30 percent live without access to organized sports other than soccer.
Only 15 to 20 percent of teenagers in rural Peru participate in sports due to safety concerns and a lack of facilities.
Table tennis in the Peruvian highlands: bringing sport to children at 4,000 meters above sea level
"The federation loves this project because it is about children who live completely apart from everything. They live almost 4,000 meters above sea level, and even though they might be only 200 to 400 kilometers from the closest major city, it takes them 7 hours by car just to get there."
This might also be the reason the ITTF loved the project: it is oriented toward children from the mountains with very low accessibility and resources, and the use of neuroscience makes it unique. The only solution was to bring table tennis to them where they are, with qualified coaches and equipment.
The Visionaries Behind the Project
The project is led by two masterminds: Mr. Manuel Canchumaya, Project Leader and Neuroscience and Education Specialist, and Ms. Nilda Fernandez, Table Tennis Coach, Inclusive Learning Advisor, and Administrative and Local Partnerships Coordinator.
The team chose these regions because they live in the central highlands of Peru at over 3,200 meters. In this region, as in other cities, table tennis is not very widespread. Through the initiative to create the Talentos Club of Tarma, they are collaborating to promote table tennis in cities far from the regional capital, Huancayo.
When Team Talentos contacted Ms. Magali Montes, President of the FDPTM, she got on board immediately, believing so strongly in the project that FDPTM was prepared to fund a pilot themselves if ITTF funding hadn't come through.
She's since been working to expand the project to other regions. Ms. Montes presented the project to the ITTF on behalf of the team, as she speaks English fluently.
A Partnership Model That Works
The project brings together four partners: Team Talentos (implementation), FDPTM (expertise), municipalities (space and legitimacy), and schools (access). Each contributes what they have and receives what they need, creating mutual accountability and sustainability.
For teenagers living in this region, table tennis offers a healthy alternative to drugs, alcohol, exclusion, and discrimination. It improves attention, working memory, and executive control while strengthening coordination and reaction time.
More Than Sport: Building Citizens
For the provinces, it lays the foundations for ongoing sports practice in the educational system. For the country, it raises awareness about improving executive functions, a key aspect for developing good citizens.
The project targets 50% female participation, 70% low-income rural families, and includes adaptations for children with disabilities. The organizers hope to have active participation from parents and neighbors in clinics and events to generate social cohesion.
A Typical Training Day
A typical training day starts with table tennis related games and active warm-ups, then moves to ball control on the table through multi-ball exercises, and ends with matches in a fun environment. Each month focuses on one value, with strong communication with parents, contributing to the children's integral education through table tennis.
The Future: 24 Months and Beyond
The ITTF funding is enough to run the project for 24 months with 30 coaches, sport psychologists, and nutritionists. After the 24 months, Team Talentos will seek strategic alliances with local governments, municipalities, and companies.
Together with the federation, they will join a nationwide massification project, combining the results from this initiative to replicate it in other regions across Peru.
Ms. Nilda would like to be remembered as a leader of the first project developed in the central region's highlands. Over the years, she is sure they will see significant changes at the sporting, educational, and social levels, and everyone in the central region will know the benefits of the sport.
A Table Carried Up a Mountain
In the next few months, a table will arrive in a village that has never seen one. Children who were told the world had forgotten them now have a place to gather, compete, and dream.
The Andes, once a wall separating them from opportunity, become the backdrop of their story. And when one of those children wins their first match, then their first tournament, then represents Peru on a stage their parents never imagined, the image will remain: a table carried up a mountain, and a child who followed it down to the world.
From the Andes to the World: Tables of Dreams
Where altitude meets ambition, and every rally is a step toward the future.
This project represents more than sport. It represents hope, opportunity, and the belief that no child is too far away, too high up, or too forgotten to dream.
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